


Reunion

by thatonecreeper



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 22:36:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5223581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonecreeper/pseuds/thatonecreeper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fic that was inspired by my outrage at the season three finale. Basically a rewrite in which Andrea survives, and her and Michonne live happily ever after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been posted over at fanfiction.net for quite a while, and I thought it was finally time that I put it on here as well. I hope you enjoy :)

Andrea curses as the pliers slip from her toes once again when her foot starts to cramp. It's her nerves, and her skin-crawling paranoia that Milton is going to turn any moment now, that's affecting her right now. The desperation she feels is a stark contrast to what she felt at the Disease Center; she has the biggest desire to live that she would give almost anything to survive this.

She spends a moment to take a calming breath, shuddering though it is, purposefully looking to the corner of the room away from Milton's corpse.

It's okay, just focus, you can do this.

She looks down to her feet and inches her feet closer to the tool, determined to get it this time around.

Between the feet, yes. Now, make sure you've actually got it, nice and steady. Got it! Lift slowly, at least to the footrest.

There's the clang of metal on metal as the pliers drop onto the footrest, and Andrea sighs in relief. She's just that little bit closer to getting free, but it feels like the world has suddenly righted itself. She allows herself one more break, flexing her toes and breathing deeply, psyching herself up. She has one last glance at Milton that she couldn't help, showing him exactly as he was, before she turns her attention back to her mission at hand. Or foot, whatever.

She manages to grip the pliers once more between her toes on her right foot, and slowly brings them up, carefully, steadily, to her hand.

Almost there… Yes!

Andrea smiles, the action strained and small, but it's short-lived as she quickly looks at the corpse against the wall again, just to be sure. There's no movement, and so she gets to work, one-hand prying the pliers in between the chains and furiously moving backwards and forward, trying to put enough stress on the thin metal so it will snap. She lets out a small, frustrated growl when the link doesn't seem to be affected at all, and decides to twist the pliers. She's careful though; to lose the pliers at this point would almost be like signifying the end, and she won't have that.

She looks closer towards the cuffs, sensing that she's almost got it and begins with a renewed vigour. A sound that's not from her causes her head to snap towards Milton. She waits with baited breath, knowing she didn't imagine it. Sure enough, the tell-tale gravelly draw of air into lungs alerts her to the fact that her time has just about run out, and she's got to move now.

With frantic movements, she begins wrestling with the pliers even as the walker starts moving, letting out sounds of distress. She's finally snapped the chain on her left hand when it gets to its feet and so she starts on the right cuff. She yells out, feeling the adrenaline and fear racing through her whole body, lending her strength to finally, finally get that damn handcuff free, and she stands up just as the walker reaches her.

Andrea brings her arms up and gives it a hard shove, sending it back stumbling and arms outreached for her, buying her more time. She still has the pliers in hand, and she tries to figure out a way for her to kill the walker. The obvious thing to do is to drive the tool through the eye socket, but that means she had to get close, risking her missing completely and being bitten. What she would do for a damn knife.

The walker has recollected itself and drags its feet towards her again. She grasps the pliers in one hand and strikes before it's within arm's reach, bringing her hand up to steady its movements enough so she can accurately hit him. She draws her other hand back and swiftly brings it down with a cry, burying the tool deep into its eye. It lets out a final groan, and Andrea makes sure it's dead by pulling the weapon out with a squelch, before driving it back in. A sob escapes as she pulls herself away and lets the body fall to the ground with a heavy thud, followed by the sound of pliers hitting the floor.

It's then that she collapses, exhausted and death no longer an immediate threat. She drags herself away from the corpse, scooting back until her back hits the wall. Now that her life is no longer in danger, she feels every bruise, every little cut keenly, as well as the ever present bone-deep weariness that's only been worsened with the Governor's treatment.

She's content though. The discomfort means she's alive, and that's worth the pain. It means there's still the possibility that she'll be able to see Michonne and all of the others again.

She'd try to escape, but she knows from days of staring hopelessly at the door that it only opens from the outside, and even if she was able to get out, then she'd no doubt have to either sneak past or fight the remaining residents of Woodbury, and she doesn't quite have the energy for that after fighting off a walker. It doesn't help that she's had no food for a few days, and no water for one.

She's dozing in and out of consciousness when the scrape of metal brings her to attention and the fear spikes viciously in her chest before she hears her friend and then it's beating fast for entirely different reasons.

"Andrea!" Michonne is kneeling in front of her, katana thrown to the side, and Andrea's heart leaps all the way into her throat at the sight of her friend's sparkling brown eyes, mouth upturned in the biggest grin she's ever seen on her. A dark-skinned hand is brought up to cup her cheek and she leans forward to rest her head against Michonne's forehead.

"Mich," she breathes, closing her eyes, feeling at last safe.

It takes her a moment to realise that there are others in the room with them but she can't stop the smile on her face when Michonne refuses to move away, instead clutching onto her hand and allowing her eyes to roam over Andrea to assess her injuries.

"Andrea," Rick greets her, face stoic but eyes filled with relief at the sight of her. She sees Daryl half in the shadows and he gives her a respectful nod, crossbow down by his side in one of his hands.

"Are you okay?" Michonne whispers from her side, trailing a hand up and down her arm, sending sensations through Andrea that reminds her that she's still alive. She gives a weak smile, bringing her own hand up to brush Michonne's cheek.

"I'm fine," she says lowly, smile widening. "I haven't been bitten, I'm still alive, and you're here. I'm more than okay." Her companion answers with a wide smile, rubbing small circles on her bicep in affection.

"Do you think you can walk, Andrea? We have the townspeople on our side, so we won't need to sneak past anyone or fight, but the Governor could come back with his men. He slaughtered most of the people who went with him to the prison," Rick explained, holding out a hand to help her up. The blonde takes his hand, but Michonne wraps an arm around her waist and helps lift her up. Daryl darts forth to pick up the half-forgotten katana still on the ground and hands it to the warrior, who takes it gratefully but sheepishly, putting it away in its sheath in a practised move. She makes sure Andrea is comfortable before the group begins to move out of the room. Andrea refuses to budge, however, and Michonne sends her a questioning glance, following her friend's gaze to the body still lying on the floor.

"Can we take him with us?" she asks softly, bringing the attention of Rick, Daryl and Tyreese to the two women. "Milton." Michonne sends a look to the corpse and then back to Andrea.

"You knew him?" she questions. Andrea nods in reply.

"He was one of the Governor's confidantes, but he turned out good in the end. He became the only friend I had left in this place." The dark-skinned woman looks at what had previously been Milton, and feels a flash of guilt and shame overcome her for leaving the woman beside her. She straightens up, however, noticing Rick and the others hesitate, and prepares herself to help fight for Andrea's proposal.

It's not needed as Rick assents with a nod. "We'll come back for him. Right now, we need to go and organise everybody else," he says. "I think we should take them all back to the prison, since no one wants to stay here now." Daryl grunts his approval and steps forward with Tyreese, taking the lead while Michonne supports Andrea and Rick stays close at hand.

They move quickly out of the building, across towards the main building where a decent amount of people are gathered, about twenty various residents, ranging from the very young to the very old.

They clamber around the five, murmuring and offering their sympathetic expressions to Andrea when they catch sight of her weakened state. Michonne's arm tightens and the blonde has to stifle her smile at the hardened frown on her friend's face. Tyreese stays behind with the other people, while the four survivors move forward into the Governor's building.

Once inside, Andrea's given water by Michonne and she sends the warrior a thankful smile as she takes her time drinking the water. Rick comes over with a bowl of oatmeal, which is grabbed gratefully and slowly eaten so it wouldn't be a shock to the system. Andrea finishes and catches Michonne staring at her neutrally, but as soon as she's been caught, a small, genuine smile appears on her face.

"We found you," Michonne whispers, causing Andrea to give a watery smile, tears springing to her eyes. "You're alive, and we found you." The blue-eyed woman leans forward and wraps her arms around her companion, letting out a choked sob of happiness. Michonne grins into her shoulder, holding her back in a tight grip. "I was so scared," she admits lowly, only for Andrea's ears, and the blonde's arms tighten, a wave of intense emotion causing goose bumps to cover her body.


	2. Chapter 2

They make it back to the prison within four hours, which considering how many possessions they had to pack and people they had to organise, it's quite the feat. They were able to get a bus to transport the townspeople and some of their belongings, and they were able to salvage quite a bit of supplies; food and containers of water, as well as medical supplies, blankets, clothes and a few weapons to go along with those scavenged from the massacre of Woodbury residents.

Andrea and Michonne had spent the majority of the car ride huddled together, not holding hands or anything to that extent, but were shoulder-to-shoulder, hip-to-hip in contact. The trip was spent in silence, but the atmosphere was upbeat and joyous, at least compared to the past few weeks; everyone in the car had at least a small content smile on their face, their bodies a little less tense.

And now, after having sorted the children and older people into their new homes, the original group gathered in their part of the cell block, quietly enjoying a small meal. There was, of course, another reunion between Andrea and those who had stayed at the prison, which was a happy occasion, with Michonne standing back with a warm smile on her face as she observed her blonde friend be welcomed back readily enough.

"Where do you think the Governor is?" Beth asks softly, quickly turning the mood from quiet and thoughtful to riddled with tension.

"Wherever he is, he better hope he ain't gonna run into us anytime soon," Daryl growls, right hand tightening and balling into a fist. Carol places a hand on his shoulder, making him relax, if only slightly. Andrea stiffens next to Michonne, who sends her a soothing look accompanied by a brush of her fingertips along her hand.

"He could be anywhere. You heard about what he's done, he's unstable and unpredictable right now," Rick declares calmly, staring at each of them. "He could be getting as far away as possible from here, or he could be on his way to attack us right now. Or he could be biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike. I think the woman we rescued from the outskirts of Woodbury mentioned that he had his two other men with him, so I think he's going to be waiting. In which case, we'll need to go over defences, strategies, everything."

The group agreed silently, watching their leader with solemn expressions.

* * *

It was almost by pure luck that Andrea and Michonne were able to get a cell block alone together. If you were to ask Michonne, she would definitely prefer it that way, and ask Andrea… Well, she was happy with whatever the arrangements were as long as she wasn't too far from the warrior. As they prepared for bed that night, there was a peaceful silence; they chose to revel in each other's presence in very much the same manner as they had during those long months out in the open alone.

"Where do  _you_  think he is, Mich?" Andrea questions, putting down her now-folded clothes onto the small table next to the bed, having already changed into reasonably fresh pyjamas. Her question stills the brunette.

"I wouldn't know," she replies, voice hard to read, even for Andrea. "I didn't spend much time with him." Andrea bristles, already taking into account that when Michonne spoke without a hint of emotion, not even apathy, it often suggested there was a range of feelings roiling beneath the surface.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The blonde asks calmly, trying to not let the hammering of her heart affect her. This situation was reminiscent of what happened at Woodbury, and it resulted in the loss of her best friend. She didn't want to go through that again. The warrior turns to her, eyes on the ground before meeting her gaze.

"It doesn't mean anything, other than all I know is that he is bad."

A pause, and then-

"I'm sorry I didn't come with you," Andrea murmurs quietly, eyes locking on Michonne, whose face twists suddenly with the onslaught of emotions. The blonde steps forth, hands outstretched to take her friend in a hug, but stops at the agony visible in those deep brown eyes. "Mich," she whimpers. Michonne purses her lips together, trying to hold herself together.

"I-" she starts, but emotion grabs the words before they can be voiced. She tries again. "Andrea, I should have stayed. I could have kept him from you," she chokes on her words again, tears steadily building up in her eyes. For Andrea, the sight before her is simultaneously surreal and incredibly confronting. The normally stoic woman is baring herself, and Andrea feels her heart breaking, piece by piece. Michonne collects herself again enough to continue. "I hate to think what could have happened, if you had…" A silent sob wracks her body, and the blonde takes two steps forward, bringing her hands up to Michonne's face and wiping the tears from her cheeks, leaning until their foreheads touch.

They stare into each other's eyes, Michonne calming down slightly as the intensity of those blue eyes reach into her and assure her that Andrea's here, she's alive, and it's them in this moment, _living_. One of the blonde's hands creep down to rest at the other woman's neck, caressing in its descent. They're both aware abruptly of the other's hot breath brushing against their lips, of Michonne's hands gripping at Andrea's, pulling her closer even as Andrea slides her hands around to the back of Michonne's neck.

"Mich," Andrea breathes, closing her eyes and graze her nose against her companion's, feeling her own heart stop and start in nervous bursts. Their lips touch, they share a collective sigh that moves their whole bodies, and then they move closer, allowing their lips full contact.

They're still for a few seconds, soaking in the way this is making them feel; blood pumping and racing at full speed, brains simultaneously in overdrive and curiously blank aside from every little sensation they get from a mere touch of lips. And then Andrea's hands tighten involuntarily and it starts a chain reaction; Michonne slips her arms around the blonde's midsection, pulling their bodies together to fit perfectly; both begin to tilt their heads to deepen the kiss, their lips start to move more boldly, parting ever so slightly to capture the other's top or bottom lip.

Andrea's tongue sneaks out, sending a spark down Michonne's spine and she moans, the embers that were previously burning quietly quickly rising into a powerful forest fire, taking control of their mind and bodies.

Next thing they know, Michonne has Andrea pushed against the wall and one leg hoisted up in her hand, wrapped around her hips. Hands are roaming and their mouths are moving furiously, trying to convey every last little emotion that's held them captive, especially the feelings their separation has brought to light. Andrea trails her hands down over Michonne's shoulders, moving to the sides of her chest and lingering along her stomach before grabbing desperately at her waist, trying in vain to  _get closer_.

A baby's cry rings out through the cell block, startling the two women into parting, though when they realise that it's only Judith acting fussy, they turn their attention back to each other, still within arm's reach. Michonne gives a shy little smile, and Andrea returns it with a beam, enamoured with this side of Michonne that she hasn't been able to see yet.

"Well that was something, huh?" Andrea notes, eyes locking with brown eyes, hands now in a reasonably safe place on Michonne's waist. The other woman's mouth twitches into a larger smile.

"Yeah," she says, daring to tilt her head forward. They both grin into the soft kiss, which soon turns into another, and then several more, before they decide to stop and just hold each other, heads resting on shoulders.

"We should go to bed," Michonne whispers. Andrea draws back with a teasing expression, lips twitching, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah?" Brown eyes darken, and blue twinkles happily in return.

"That's not what I meant." The way the brunette's body reacts to her words betrays her, as her arms draw her closer.

"I know what you meant. Come on, then," the blonde grabs onto Michonne's hand, interlocking their fingers and dragging her over to the bunk bed before forcing her down onto the bottom bunk with a slight push. Andrea cautiously scrambles in after her, aware that the bunks really aren't made for two people side by side, but she figures they'll fit. Just.


	3. Chapter 3

The two women wake up the next morning, arms and legs intertwined as Michonne lies half on top of Andrea to accommodate for the lack of space in the bed. It wasn't the best night's sleep either of them have ever had, but the fact that they were able to spend it so intimately nestled together rates it higher than any other experience.

"Good morning," Andrea murmurs when her bed mate lifts up on one arm to look at her, aware of the commotion going on outside of their cell, indicating that the others were up and most likely preparing for the busy day ahead of them. Michonne starts to pull her hand out from where it's resting on a pale hip underneath Andrea's pyjama shirt, but places it back firmly when Andrea pouts slightly at her, rubbing her thumb along the skin in condolence. The dread-locked woman clears her throat.

"Good morning," she says lowly, thumb now moving in small circles. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," Andrea replies, bringing her arm underneath Michonne up a little so she can pull her closer for a kiss, but she hits resistance. Michonne's lips curl up ever so slightly at the corners.

"Just fine?" she questions further, stilling her thumb and frowning. A blonde eyebrow raises, and Andrea looks mainly unimpressed with Michonne's obvious teasing. The dark-skinned woman relents, leaning down to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. At least, that's what would've happened if Andrea didn't turn her head to have Michonne's lips fall on her cheek.

Michonne growls but decides to execute a different form of attack by sliding her lips down the exposed neck and fixating on somewhere in the middle, kissing it gently. Andrea almost lets out a breathless giggle, but it's cut short by a soft moan that falls out when Michonne begins to suck slightly at her neck. Andrea's hand comes up to rest at the back of Michonne's head, making sure she stays there. The blonde moans again when she feels the slightest hint of Michonne's tongue trace on her skin, making her heart thump almost painfully in her chest and she slips her fingers through the dreadlocks at the nape of Michonne's neck, bringing their mouths together at last.

Both women push themselves into the kiss, but Andrea comes out on top, blanket originally covering them falling down to their waists as she supports herself on both hands over the brunette, deepening the kiss by opening her mouth and allowing Michonne access. She can feel Michonne's other hand reach up and mirror its partner's position on her hips, slowly creeping up with kneading movements. Her hands are all the way up on Andrea's bare back and the knowledge that she's not wearing anything underneath the shirt makes her pull Andrea down so their chests are touching. The friction alone sends electrical pulses up and down their spines, causing mutual groans.

Michonne moves her arms, splaying her fingers over as much space as she can get, inadvertently shifting Andrea's shirt so the skin on her back is exposed to the cool air, contrasting heavily with the heat radiating off the both of them.

"We need you girls up to help- wow, okay," Glenn says as he stops at the doorway to the cell and turns around when he sees dark-skinned hands running over a pale back and disappearing under a shirt. Andrea sits up, making her shirt fall down to cover her midsection up again.

"You, uh, can turn around Glenn," Andrea announces, sending a glance to Michonne who's leaning back on her arms, stony faced and studying the man who cautiously spins around and gives them, mostly Michonne, a nervous smile.

"We've got a lot to do today, so I'm waking everyone up. Rick wants to go over plans and stuff," he explains, eyes moving slowly from Michonne to Andrea with a small grin on his face. "Plus some of the people from Woodbury have made breakfast." Andrea nods, letting him know that she understands, and he walks off, still with that grin on his face. The blonde turns her complete attention to the silent woman next to her, trying to gauge what her mood is, and her reaction to being found out, especially when they were caught off-guard.

"Are you okay?" Andrea probes when Michonne refuses to say anything, staring at the spot where Glenn was just before. She turns her head to look at the concerned expression on Andrea's face, and frowns slightly before getting up off the bed.

"I just don't like anyone knowing my business," she mumbles, grabbing a belt from their meagre pile of clothes, threading it through the loops on the pants she slept in. She tightens it just enough and grabs her usual vest, throwing that on over the top of her tank top followed by the katana and sheath. "Are you coming?" she asks, striding to the doorway and seeing that most of the group were already downstairs and getting ready for the day.

"Sure, just give me a moment," Andrea replies quietly, standing and choosing to change into a pair of jeans and a different shirt while the other woman waits patiently for her, back turned. She strolls over and places a hand on Michonne's elbow, silently letting her know she's ready. She's relieved when she gets a small smile in return before they start walking downstairs to join the others.

They each get handed a bowl by one of the former Woodbury residents, an older woman who smiles happily at them and disappears soon enough. Karen, the woman that was rescued by Rick, Daryl and Michonne, is there along with Tyreese and Sasha, waiting for Rick, no doubt. Michonne and Andrea sit down at a table with Carol and Beth to eat, Andrea noticing that Rick, Daryl and Glenn are nowhere to be seen.

The men walk in five minutes later, when Andrea and Michonne have finished eating and Andrea has begun to talk with Carol about the finer details of her side of the story at Woodbury. The room goes silent and all eyes turn to them.

"The plan is to reclaim the yard today," Rick says, voice ringing throughout the room. "We get the field back, maybe we can start growing some vegetables and not have to rely on cans of food anymore. We'll need a team to defend the people who are going to fix the gates, and then we should all be able to start cleaning up the bodies. Glenn, Maggie and Sasha are going to be on guard duty, and most of the Woodbury people will have to stay inside, but the rest of us will get to work in the field. Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and I will work on the gate while Beth, Carol and Karen keep the walkers from getting too close." Andrea narrows her eyes at this, twisting so she was fully facing Rick.

"I can join you," she pipes up, and Carl stands up from where he was watching quietly in the corner.

"I want to help too." Rick halts at both of their words, studying his son carefully before turning to Andrea.

"If you're feeling okay, then I can't see why not. But only if you're strong enough, and don't push yourself," he says, and then beckons Carl forward to talk to him when Andrea nods in agreement. Michonne looks at Andrea as she turns back around, appearing quite satisfied.

"Are you sure you're fine to go out?" she questions quietly, receiving a reassuring smile in return.

"I'm fine. I've gone through worse, and came out better on the other side," Andrea reminds her of the state Michonne found her in, close to dropping from exhaustion and thirst. "Besides, I've been resting for long enough." A smile that teeters between affection and exasperation emerges on Michonne's face and Andrea raises her eyebrows in curiosity.

"You never could stand to keep still for long," she comments good-naturedly, her husky, low tone sending Andrea's heart thumping with the barrage of feelings that she sees mirrored in brown eyes.

"You're one to talk," she retorts light-heartedly, bumping shoulders with Michonne before looking up and meeting Carol's knowing gaze. Carol only keeps a grin at bay, impish twinkle in her eye as Andrea feels a certain bashfulness at getting caught out again overcome her. They've got to work on their subtly, clearly. But as she catches sight of the playfulness in Michonne's eyes, she really doesn't mind.

* * *

They make it onto the field, all armed with at least one melee weapon to protect against the horde of walkers that have meandered into the fenced area once again. It's not too hard to dispatch the walkers, what with all nine of them working quickly across the open, before they reach the entrance and Michonne, Rick, Daryl and Tyreese lift up the torn off gate and chain it tightly to its original place, with the others guarding the fence carefully.

When Rick's satisfied that the gate is secure enough that at least walkers won't get through, they get to work clearing the yard and piling the corpses in a corner far from the prison, ready to be burnt. Andrea has already seen the crosses rising up though the grass, and when it comes time for a brief reprieve from labour she wanders over, silent and brooding as she realises these would be for those that the group had already lost. It's a while before Michonne draws near, having wanted to give some space to the obviously deep-in-thought blonde. Andrea glances at her before shifting her sight back to the graves.

"We've lost so much," she murmurs, making the brunette walk forward so she's close enough to offer comfort. "There's so many people that are just gone now, so many sacrifices made." She turns to Michonne, smiling sadly at her as she steps closer. "I'm just glad that we're both here, alive and healthy." Their hands find each other, mindful of the others loitering in the field but not quite able to stay completely away. Michonne squeezes Andrea's hand, sending her a smile that reveals how grateful she is, too, that they're both here. They hear the subtle sound of footsteps through grass, dropping their hands away and turning to see Beth steadily making her way over to them.

"Rick says the break is over," she explains her presence shyly, and Andrea lets out a heavy breath before nodding. Michonne sends her a concerned look, but is brushed off by Andrea's insistent grin.

"I know you're worried, but I'm fine," she says firmly, placing a hand on Michonne's upper arm. "If I feel sick, or tired, or anything, I promise I will stop, okay? But I can't just sit around doing nothing, it would drive me crazy." Michonne shakes her head, grinning softly to herself as she knows how accurate the blonde's words are, mind flashing back to the months spent with Andrea out in the open. They were exactly alike, in that respect; unable to keep idle when they were perfectly capable of being productive.

"All right, as long as you know when enough is enough," Michonne caves in with tenderness present in her voice. "Let's go."

* * *

It's late in the afternoon when they hold Milton's funeral, having made the decision to do so when they finished clearing the field of the bodies, the sun still high in the sky. It took little over a half an hour for the four who fixed the gate to dig a deep enough grave. Michonne could tell that Andrea wanted to help, out of respect for Milton, but drew the line at the back-breaking labour involved in shovelling the dirt. Instead, she stepped in for the blonde, also feeling the need to express her recognition and appreciation for the man who helped enable Andrea to survive.

So now the survivors and people from Woodbury gather around for a small ceremony, apart from Beth who had taken over the babysitting duties from Hershel and a Woodbury woman while she was in the field helping. Hershel assumes his role of saying a few words as a parting to the man who sacrificed himself to try and take down the Governor, while Andrea and the Woodbury citizens recall the man, the others staying quiet out of respect. Seeing that no one will step forward to speak for Milton on a more personal note when Hershel falls silent, Andrea decides to say a few words herself.

"Milton was a good man," she starts off, gaining strength from the thankful and supportive expressions of everyone who knew Milton. "In the end, he tried to do what was right, and thanks to him, I am alive now. And for that, he shall be remembered dearly. There will not be a day where I won't think about what he's done for me, and what he's allowed me to experience as I continue living." She locks her gaze on Michonne, who's fighting back tears with her lips upturned in a bittersweet smile. "There really are no words that I could say that would show just how grateful I am for his actions, and I will try to carry out his wishes that there won't be unnecessary violence in an already violent and chaotic world. We will make a life for ourselves where it won't be tainted and influenced by men like the Governor. His sacrifice can make us strive for a much better world. While I live, I will be thankful for the life we have been given, and the people we have with us. To Milton, and all those we have lost in the cruellest of circumstances." When it was clear that Andrea had finished speaking, everyone began clapping, most with tears running down their faces, obviously thinking not only about Milton, but those who had been killed in the Governor's massacre and even before that, the loved ones they had lost due to the outbreak.

The blonde moves back next to her companion, seeing that most of the prison group were also affected by her speech. Every one of them have lost someone close to them, but the unity they show by seeking and offering comfort with each other brings tears to Andrea's eyes as she turns her attention to Michonne.

"I love you," she whispers, drawing close and enveloping the dread-locked woman in a tight embrace. "I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"I love you too," is whispered back into her ear, and her grip constricts further, her emotions manifesting physically by controlling her body, trying to get the other woman closer. "So much, Andrea."

They retire to bed that night, once again tangled in each other's arms, too exhausted from the day's exertions to do much other than cuddling; the women easily fall asleep with calm, happy smiles present on their faces.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day finds the two outside on guard duty while the others do various jobs, transforming the prison into more of a home now that the Woodbury residents are there and preparing it for possible future altercations with the Governor and his two henchmen. Initially it was Michonne who was placed on duty – Rick had deemed it only necessary for one person to stand guard since virtually all of the people would be inside the buildings for most of the day – but Andrea was able to join her with the argument that two pairs of eyes would be better than one, especially if the Governor was still out there. Rick had conceded with the belief that it wouldn't hurt for Andrea to have light duties after working hard yesterday.

Luckily in the attack on the prison, only one of the guard towers had been destroyed to the point of not being able to use it, and hence Michonne and Andrea were currently up on the same one, situated on different corners with a gun each.

After catching Andrea glancing at her for the sixth time, Michonne gives in and sends a questioning smile, unable to stop her elation from leaking through. She feels like she's floating on cloud nine, grounded only by the blonde at her side; the woman who she's exchanged an admission of love with, who she's come to know inside and out over several months, who she would die for.

"What is it?" Michonne voices, seeing Andrea look away bashfully. Blue eyes turn to her again, taking in her appearance – boots, cargo pants, tight shirt and usual vest, along with a bandana pulling back the woman's dreadlocks – before taking hold of Michonne's eyes and twinkling at her.

"We never really talked about what's been happening," Andrea starts, moving her attention to the woods surrounding the prison, gun held firmly down in front of her in a wary stance. Behind her, Michonne shifts and faces the other way, unsure of how to answer to Andrea's words. The blonde looks back at her, sensing her indecision. "I mean between us."

Michonne nods carefully at her words, eyes searching the trees but not really seeing.

"We never did, did we?" she murmurs faintly.

"We didn't really have time," Andrea acknowledges. "But we're here now, with no one to bother us." Michonne raises an eyebrow as she looks at Andrea.

"And that's why you wanted to come on guard duty with me?" she asks. The blue-eyed woman shakes her head, a hint of a smile playing around her mouth.

"Not just that. Maybe I just wanted to be with you." There's a mischievous lilt to her voice that has the warrior facing her, fighting back a smile.

"I'm glad you wanted to join me, even if you're going to try to distract me," Michonne says in a low voice, looking vaguely unimpressed, though Andrea knows differently by the way the other woman tightens her mouth to restrain a grin.

"I know you're not quite close with the others yet," she says. "But they're good people, and they won't judge us, I know it." Michonne is silent, contemplating the woman in front of her.

"I know," she assents with a small upturn of the lips.

"And by the looks of it, some of them already know." Andrea's lightly spoken comment gets the reaction she was looking for; Michonne is standing there unmoving, seemingly shocked by the news.

"There's Glenn, and by extension Maggie, but who else is there?" she questions, focusing on Andrea.

"Carol's been grinning at me whenever we're within five feet of each other, and I think Beth and Carl have started to realise something's going on." And it was true; last night while the group had dinner, Andrea had caught the pair studying her and Michonne whilst the two women were eating together. It was unnerving, the way that they just watched with neutral expressions, but then Beth gave her the slightest of nods, and Andrea figured that they weren't bothered by whatever they'd managed to conclude.

Michonne scoffs, an expression of faint amusement on her face as she scans the ground carefully.

"So we're more obvious than I thought we were," she murmurs, looking up at Andrea with a tender expression. The blonde can see that the other woman is uncomfortable by the news, but the feelings she has for Andrea are obviously winning out. Andrea sends her a small grin, lessening the slight pressure Michonne can feel in the pit of her stomach at the thought of other people knowing.

"Well, we are pretty close. It was only a matter of time before people noticed." There's a pause before Andrea continues. "I don't think we need to actively tell anyone. But if someone asks, I want to tell them the truth… That I love you." Michonne's lips lift at the corners into a soft grin as she regards the semi-bashful woman in front of her. They hadn't yet repeated yesterday's declarations, the timing always seeming a little off whenever it crossed their mind to do so, but they were content in the fact that it was out in the open now, that the other knew.

"And that I love you," Michonne replies simply, causing Andrea to shift closer with a matching smile on her face.

"So you won't mind if someone were to ask, that I would tell them?" she asks hopefully, stopping just in front of her, guard duty briefly forgotten in favour of the affectionate gaze Michonne has trained on her. Michonne merely shakes her head in reply and Andrea lets out a gratified sigh, bringing her hands up to cup Michonne's cheeks and leaning in.

They share a sweet peck before the blonde draws back to look at her companion, grinning when she feels hands on her hips to pull her back in. This time the kiss lasts a few moments, but it is decidedly chaste in comparison to others that they've had; it's an affirmation of their feelings, soft and gentle, comforting in its simplicity. They withdraw only to clasp at each other in a firm embrace, momentarily driven by their need to stay close.

The realisation that they're neglecting guard duty is what draws them apart to separate corners again, but not before they give a loving squeeze of hands and a look of fondness passes between them.

The rest of their shift passes without any significant incidents, though it's filled with longing glances and knowing smirks.

* * *

Andrea and Michonne are again within their cell, having been dismissed by Rick after they came back down from the tower once Tyreese relieved them of guard duty. Today was apparently a day to go over plans of action – places to scavenge for supplies, how to best utilise the space they've got, ways to fortify the prison even more – but the pair had nothing to contribute, so they excused themselves with promises to voice anything that they might be able to come up with. Carol gave Andrea the now-anticipated smirk at the sight of the two women going off to spend more time together, alone, and Andrea only pursed her lips in attempt to stop her happiness from appearing in the form of an obnoxious grin.

Michonne sits on the bottom bunk, watching as Andrea sorts through their meagre possessions. Catching sight of the warrior watching her, Andrea straightens and playfully swings her hips as she saunters over, placing her hands on Michonne's shoulders and leaning down to touch their lips together.

When Andrea retreats and smiles cheerfully at Michonne, the brunette speaks up, for once showing her curiosity; though if she were to reveal it to anyone, it would of course be the blonde who has seen her vulnerable many times.

"Are you glad you're back here?" she questions, recalling that the main reason Andrea had stayed behind at Woodbury was for the security and imitation of a life long gone, and wondering if she felt the same about the prison. Andrea gives Michonne's question some thought, seriously considering her answer.

"I'm happy that we've found the others, and that we're in a pretty good place at the moment where we won't have to worry about a herd of walkers suddenly coming upon us. At least we'd be better off than we were at the farm. It's still not the same as Woodbury, or what it was pretending to be," Andrea's blue eyes find a spot on the wall behind Michonne, not quite focusing as she concentrated on her thoughts. "I don't think we'll ever find something like that though, a place where we could rebuild the life we had. And I don't think I'd want to. Not without… Without Amy. It would never be the same." Her eyes find Michonne's, locking onto them and conveying every emotion. "So yes, I'm glad  _we're_  here now. And I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you at Woodbury to begin with. I should have left with you, rather than stay with-at Woodbury."

Michonne notices her slip, feeling resentment bubble up at the thought of Andrea choosing  _him_  over her, even as the resulting guilt quickly stamps it out. The blonde sees Michonne's face darken and mentally berates herself for her stumbling words. She hadn't meant to word it like that, like what she had done was choose Phillip over her companion, like Michonne had accused her of when they were last reunited. Should she try and rectify it? Was she even able to make this right, the fact that she didn't go with Michonne?

She's stopped from saying anything when they hear an air horn blowing three times faintly from outside the prison – the signal for something unusual that the current person on watch has seen. The two women glance at each other before getting up and rushing to the balcony outside their cell, seeing Rick and the others scramble into wary stances.

"What do you think is happening?" Andrea questions Michonne quietly, who starts making her way downstairs. Andrea follows, grabbing the gun Glenn hands her with a grim expression as they reach the bottom of the stairs.

"I don't know," Michonne answers, sending the blonde a quick glance. "We'll have to find out."


	5. Chapter 5

It feels like it doesn't take long for the lot of them to make their way outside, what with the adrenaline charging through their bodies. They burst outside in the courtyard, battle-ready but stop at the sight of a 4WD truck parked in front of the gate with Caesar Martinez in the tray, shooting at any of the walkers that came too close. Otherwise, there's no sign of attack on the prison.

"What the hell is going on?" Daryl mutters, crossbow loosely held in a ready stance as he trades a confused look with Rick. Their leader hesitates, internally debating over what to do before bringing up the scope on his rifle and peering through it, trying to gather more information on the situation. Just through the glass, he can see the Governor's other man, Shumpert, in the driver's seat, but no sign of the man himself.

"I can't see the Governor," Rick tells them all, checking what he can see of the inside of the car. He shifts the scope's view to Caesar, who's still guarding against the walkers, but appears to be glancing up at the prison every so often. It's then that Rick notices the white fabric fluttering in the wind.

"Andrea, take a look at Martinez's hand, what he's got in it," he orders quietly, unable to believe his eyes. Surely not…

Andrea does as he says, looking through her own scope and seeing the corner of a white t-shirt gripped tightly in a fist.

"Are they attempting to strike a truce?" Andrea muses uncertainly, causing the others to shift and frown. "Do they honestly think that we'll fall for that? After everything that's happened, everything that they've done?" There's silence and then Rick makes a decision.

"Andrea, Daryl, Carol, Sasha, Maggie and Karen, I want you to look in the trees for any sign of the Governor. We'll move into the field, but be careful, and be prepared to take cover behind any of the vehicles. Michonne, Glenn, you come with me to see what they want and keep your guns trained on them. If they make any hostile move, do not hesitate to shoot them. Are you ready?" he questions, eyeing each of them. They all collectively nod, and he goes to unlock the courtyard gate, allowing four of the former group to pass through as well as his group; Carol and Karen stay behind so they were more spread out; less chance of them all getting hit in one go if there  _is_  an attack. Andrea's group span out behind Rick, Michonne and Glenn as they cautiously move closer to the fenceline, ready to bolt to the nearby truck. Presently, all weapons are raised and fingers steady on the trigger.

It's obvious that Caesar and Shumpert have spotted them, watching their progress with intent eyes. The group are halfway through the field when Tyreese appears at the base of the tower, waiting for Rick to get closer before meeting him in front of the gate.

"I can't see anything else up there," he mentions lowly, shifting his gaze from the trees to Rick and then to the men waiting outside the prison borders.

"Keep an eye out, we've got the others looking as well," Rick sends him back up the guard tower, before turning his complete attention to the intruders.

"Let us in," Caesar yells out, slowly raising his gun away from the prison and towards the walker that's ambling its way towards the car. Michonne lets out a scoff from next to Rick, and Glenn releases a humourless laugh; both are still tense, expecting someone to raise a gun towards them.

"Why would you think we would do that?" Rick raises his voice to carry out across the distance, and Caesar lifts up his arm in surrender.

"We have the Governor tied up," he replies, making those who heard furrow their brows in frustrating confusion.

"It's got to be a trap, there's no other explanation for it. These are the Governor's  _right-hand_ men," Glenn warns lowly. Rick nods his agreement, and Michonne stays silent, attention focusing solely on the men in the car.

"You really expect us to believe that," the former police officer responds eventually, mouth tightening into a thin line as he waits. A short bark of laughter comes from within the car, and Shumpert is opening the door, stepping out with his arms held in the air.

"We really don't, but look, we'll pull the Governor out and show you, alright?"

Glenn seethes and Michonne frowns in thought; Rick only stoically watches before acquiescing with a harsh 'alright'. Caesar and Shumpert move to the tray of the truck, pulling down the hatch and pulling something heavy towards them in unison. Everybody waits with bated breath, tension thrumming through their bodies.

And then, finally, the object in the truck is revealed indeed as a man, frame and build exactly as the Governor. It's clear that he's knocked out and tied up by the way Shumpert throws him over his shoulder easily enough, but the group haven't had a chance to get a clear look at his face. Caesar is still on the lookout for bold walkers as the duo walk closer to the gate.

"Put your weapons down," Rick commands, lifting his own up in warning. The two men exchange looks, obviously hesitant.

"What about the biters?" Shumpert questions, shifting as he takes in the shuffling corpses slowly making their way over. It seems that the numbers are growing by the minute; the noise of the car and air horn must have drawn more towards the prison.

"Andrea and Daryl will make sure they don't get too close. Now, weapons down on the ground and step away from them. That includes knifes. And I want to see the Governor's face." The men comply, Caesar placing his gun unwillingly on the ground along with two knifes secreted in his clothes. Shumpert is able to remove a handgun and a knife from himself, even with the body draped over his shoulder. They move away a few feet, coming closer yet to the fence where they situate the hostage in front of them so he's kneeling, nervously glancing around. Caesar lifts the man's head up by his hair, leaving his face to be scrutinised.

"That's the Governor, alright," Michonne growls lowly, face tightening in fury and disgust at the sight of the unconscious man's features. The distinct eye patch has shifted in all the movement so it's not completely covering the wounded eye and his other eye is only just shut in a lazy, catatonic state. His mouth is agape, jaw relaxed completely, and his arms hang behind his back, kept from falling to his sides by the rope cutting into his wrists. All signs of truly being knocked out, yet everyone was still wary.

"Why are you here?" Rick asks. "What made you turn against your boss?"

"He went nuts. Killed a lot of our people for no reason," Caesar explains. "Shumpert and I, we didn't want him to turn on us as well. We thought you might take us in if we brought you the Gov, so we managed to knock him out, tie him up and find our way back here."

"You've taken our people hostage, attacked our home. What makes you really think that we'd take you in?" Glenn interjects, anger coming through. Rick shoots him a warning glance, silently telling him to calm down.

"We know we've done bad by you, but it was under the Governor's orders. It's a man-eat-man world out there, we did what we had to," Caesar pleads. There's a gunshot as Andrea steps forth and shoots one of the walkers closing in on the three men right in the forehead.

"I don't trust them," Glenn reiterates, taking the momentary distraction as a chance to converse with the small gathering.

"What do you propose we do?" Rick asks under his breath, studying the men carefully. "Shoot them? Turn them away to have them come back to attack?"

"If this was an attack, why would they risk being out in the open like this?" Andrea suggests, trying to make sense of the situation.

"They don't have the numbers to overwhelm us anymore, they're trying to be smart." Glenn argues.

"By walking right into our hands? That sounds pretty dumb to me, especially since that fucker killed my brother." Daryl mutters, moving forward to be within earshot, eyes narrowed right at the tied-up man. "They've gotta know that we'd want to make them pay."

"We'll take them in," Rick decides. "They may still be a threat, but at least we'll know where they are. They can stay in separate cells until we decide what to do with them. We shouldn't be out in the open for too long," The others nod collectively, content with his reasoning, for the time being. Daryl shoots an arrow at yet another walker that got too close, before the group moves in unison to the gate. The keys to the padlocks keeping the chains up rattle as Rick places a hand on them.

"We're going to let you come in, but I want you to enter one at a time on my command. Shumpert, you'll come in with the Governor first, place him on the ground and move away while we have a look. Any sudden movement, hostile or otherwise, and my people will shoot you. Got it?" The two men nod, relieved even as six guns are currently locked onto them. They're still a few feet away from the fence when Rick unlocks one side of the gate, pulling it back far enough for Shumpert to walk through with the Governor perched on his shoulder again.

The unconscious man is placed none too gently on the ground before the tall man backs away with his hands hovering about his head in the typical stance of surrender. Maggie and Sasha move to stand on either side of Shumpert, still plenty of time to react if he was to suddenly attack.

Rick steps towards the Governor, closely studying the motionless body for any sign of a ruse. Glenn and Michonne are also on alert, backing him up. The former sheriff deputy crouches down and quickly checks the rope binding the man's wrists together, noting that it's tight and secure enough that he wouldn't be able to make use of his hands.

Next, he places two fingers on Phillip's neck, unable to get to the pulse point on his wrist due to the rope. He finds a pulse, regular and strong enough to show he's still alive and not on the verge of turning. He pats the man's clothes down, searching for any possible concealed weapons.

When he comes up clear, Rick stands up and nods to the others, leaving the man lying on the ground as he moves over to the gate and gestures Caesar through, relocking the padlocks and securing the field once again from walkers. He leaves Caesar waiting with the remaining guards.

"I just want to do a body search on the both of you, and then we'll take you to your new home," Rick explains, moving in front of Shumpert but raising his voice so Caesar hears him clearly. The Woodbury men voice their consent and Rick proceeds to pat down Shumpert, finding nothing and then doing the same with Caesar. He waves down Carol and Karen from the prison courtyard as an extra precaution and gets Daryl and Michonne to pick Phillip up for the brief journey back to the cell block. Both seem reluctant to do as Rick says, but move forward, handing their weapons to the others to make it easier for them with the burden.

The pair lead the way with Phillip, followed at a few feet by Caesar who's guarded by Andrea and Carol. Shumpert is escorted by Karen and Maggie, and the group is followed by Rick bringing up the rear, rifle once again steady in his hands.


	6. Chapter 6

They have to pass the quarters where they've put the majority of the Woodbury folk and when they do the atmosphere in the building becomes thick, suffocating in a way, murmurs of people and delighted noises of children disappearing almost instantaneously as soon as they catch sight of the procession. The silence is unnerving, like the calm before the storm, before a hiss of words appears here and there, angry expressions turning towards the three captives.

Rick and the others ignore them for the most part, but Caesar and Shumpert seem unable to, remorse building on their faces with every accusatory glare thrown their way. They move through to the room where there are empty cells, far away enough from everybody else that they wouldn't come into contact with most people on a day-to-day basis, but close enough to keep an eye on them. The two conscious men are placed and locked into their respective cells first; both go without complaint, but Shumpert seems the most troubled when he goes to sit down on his bed.

Philip goes into a cell several over away from his former men, the rope cut away from his wrists and instead replaced with handcuffs on his right hand, restraining him to the bed bolted to the wall and floor.

"Daryl, can you stay here and keep an eye on them, especially if the Governor wakes up?" Rick asks the crossbowman, who assents and begins to pace along the corridor of the cells, prowling and keeping his features in a dark, brooding expression.

The others move out back into the Woodbury section, to where everyone is waiting none too patiently for Rick to appear to start hammering them with questions.

"What's happened?"

"Why is the Governor here?"

"Murderer!"

"Is he dead?"

Andrea and Michonne edge closer together, sharing a look as Rick holds up a hand for silence.

"The Governor's men, Martinez and Shumpert, have brought us the Governor as a way to redeem themselves. I will question them, and the Governor when he wakes, and then we will decide on what to do with them. For now, they're locked away and I have Daryl standing guard. For your own safety, it would be best if you stayed away," Rick finishes, gaining a few understanding nods from the now-dispersing crowd, satisfied for the most part with his answer. Rick sends a glance to each of his remaining group, taking in their expectant stares. He sighs.

"We'll send someone up to relieve Tyreese so he can be filled in on what's happening." It's a little past noon now, and already a lot has changed. Some higher power has been on their side and brought them the Governor; that's one problem almost taken care of, but three more put in its place.

"I can go," Carol offers, moving off at Rick's thankful nod. Fifteen minutes later Tyreese strolls in to where the group have congregated in the main block.

"We have the men locked up and Daryl watching over them," Sasha explains to her brother when he sits down next to her at one of the tables.

"The Governor's still knocked out," Rick clarifies. "We're waiting on him to wake up, try and get the answers we need, and then… See what happens with the other two." It's clear by his tone and wording that Philip's fate is already sealed; it's only a matter of time. Tyreese bobs his head in understanding.

"The day's almost over, we should finish up on our plans," Hershel suggests after a long silence. Those who were helping earlier gather around one table, and Michonne and Andrea decide to stand around as well, interjecting their own ideas every once and a while.

One hour and a bit later, Daryl comes striding in, face set in a harsh scowl.

"The fucker's awake," he says in a tone to suit his expression, hand clenched on his crossbow. Immediately three people stand alert; Rick, Andrea and Michonne, with the rest of the group staring uneasily at each other.

"Is he coherent?" Rick questions, and Daryl makes a noise of derision.

"He's coherent alright. Knew where he was right away and started swearing. He knows exactly what he's in for," he says with a ruthlessly proud undertone.

"Does anyone else want to tag along?" Rick turns to face the other occupants of the room. Glenn stands up and Michonne steps forward. Andrea steps forward as well after a slight deliberation. The group is joined by Karen, mouth pressed into a grim determined line, and Rick sends one last sweeping gaze around the people. "Let's go."

They march once more through to the cells, past the two men who look solemnly up from their beds, and come to a halt just a few feet away from the bars, taking in the sight of the captured man with his back turned, sitting on the bed and clearly trying to escape from the cuffs.

Rick clears his throat, making Philip stiffen and cock his head before facing them. Angry eyes take in the group standing beyond his reach, and a low, feral growl travels out from the cell.

Andrea peers over Rick's shoulder, catching Philip's attention; if possible, his sneer gets more disdainful, hatred transforming his face into an ugly, twisted mask, far from the deceivingly charming smile she was once upon a time greeted with. It's horrifying reminiscent of those days and nights spent experiencing that same sadistic glint in his eyes right before her would hit her. She shifts closer to Michonne, gripping tightly at her hand as her body aches in memory at the fear and pain she faced tied to that chair.

"Fucking bitch," he rages. "Your whore of a friend managed to save you, did she? Milton, useless fucking Milton, that son of a bitch." Andrea could see the insanity build with each word, anger causing his frame to tighten and shift restlessly, handcuff straining as it keeps him to the bed.

Daryl moves forward and to the left, contempt clear on his face as he glares down at the captive. Philip ignores him, eyes locking onto the now-revealed Michonne. Without warning, he tries his best to lunge forward, but is stopped by the handcuff.

"You bitch," he grunts, eyes shadowed with nothing but chaotic rage, hand reaching out as if to wrap around her neck. "You killed my daughter, my sweet little girl, my Penny," he hisses, seeming to redouble his efforts at getting free. Thankfully the handcuffs hold, keeping him somewhat contained to his bed. Michonne only watches him, face tightened in a mildly disgusted scowl. Andrea feels a wave of relief that she's out of his hands now; glad that Michonne is out of his reach as well.

It's almost cruel, how the group stands there watching the man pull desperately at his restraints, growling and spitting out words, cursing each of them in turn with wild eyes. The majority move away, unable to keep on watching Philip's descent into complete madness. Eventually it's just Rick, Michonne and Andrea, witnessing Philip's angry words morph into sorrowful croons about his daughter even as he pulls pitifully at the handcuffs every so often. They leave him like that, walking past where the other two men are and locking the cell block behind them.

"What are we going to do with him?" Andrea asks lowly, wanting to confirm her suspicions. Her hand tightens its hold on Michonne's and she pulls her close without any complaint from the woman. Michonne even goes so far as to wrap her arm around the blonde's waist, gripping almost possessively. Andrea smiles internally at this, but focuses on Rick's reply.

"There's only one way to resolve this," he says grimly. "Let's go to the others so I don't have to repeat myself." They move through to their block and gather a few of the Woodbury residents so they were in the loop as well, finding the rest of the group spread throughout the room.

"We're going to execute the Governor," Rick steels himself and announces, voice ringing with authority. "We can't keep him in his cell. He'll be using up supplies we could otherwise be saving, and there's a chance he could escape. He's killed too many of our people," his eyes shift to Karen and the other Woodbury people, their sober nods showing their acceptance of his decision. "And he shall account for the pain he's put us all through." He pauses, thinking over his next words. "In the morning, we'll put this thing to rest in the field, and then hopefully we can move on from this."

"What about the Bowman and Martinez?" Noah, Karen's son, pipes up, receiving a stern look from his mother but approving nods from the rest of the room's occupants.

"We still don't know what they really want, but from what we know, they wouldn't turn against their own people." Maggie answers, uncomfortable with the fact that her previous captors could be accepted as their own. However, she's unable to place the same amount of blame on them as Philip, having been threatened personally by him, skin crawling at the thought.

"They'll be brought to watch, so they know exactly what they've walked into," Rick resolves. "Tomorrow, in the morning, we'll settle this."


	7. Chapter 7

Outside, the prison was as it had been since the group had first commandeered it; walkers stumbling around its perimeters, the surrounding trees occasionally swaying in the soft breeze that appeared every so often, the soft hum of the insects hidden amongst the grass. It was the picture of serenity, if you could ignore the fact that the clumsy walkers would spiral into a frenzied, murderous mob at the first hint of fresh meat.

Inside the prison was a different story. The mood was quiet, yet the atmosphere was almost stifling. You could feel the excitement of the people at the thought of justice, of seeing the causer of so much pain brought to pay for what he had done. There was a lightness in the air that was palpable, reverberating off the walls as people loitered in their rooms.

Rick announces that it's almost time, but already a group have gathered in the courtyard, eyes occasionally drifting to the cluttered pile of wood already prepared in the field.

The door opens noisily, causing people to shift their attention to the doorway, only to turn away in disinterest at the sight of Andrea and Michonne. They're followed by Shumpert, guarded by Glenn and Maggie and bound in handcuffs salvaged from the turned prison wardens. Not two minutes later, after Shumpert is sitting on a chair in the field and incapable of moving without causing alarm, Caesar is brought outside as well, placed into a chair 5 feet away from his accomplice facing the wood pile. The people in the courtyard start to pour into the field after being motioned the okay, making sure to steer clear of the two prisoners.

The only people not present already are Rick, Daryl, Tyreese, Sasha and Carol, but it's not more than ten minutes before they appear, Rick leading solemnly with Sasha and Carol bringing up the rear, guns trained on the man bound at the wrists and ankles being dragged by Tyreese and Daryl. Even from the field, Philip can be seen struggling, thrashing against the grip of the two men. The procession makes its way down to the front of the crowd, standing just in front of the firewood.

Now that Philip is closer, everyone can hear him hissing and howling, even forced to kneel as he is, straining to break free.

"You're all going to die," he growls, low voice travelling through the people and causing them to recoil at the venom in his tone. The enraged man continues, teeth bared like a wild animal and mouth curled into a feral grin. "You won't live all that long, soon, biters will get you, they always do." There's no sign of the cool, collected man who was present even when carrying out the post-battle massacre. He sways from side to side forcefully, trying to use his strength to break away from his captors, but stops when Rick drives the butt of his rifle into his temple. The crowd stares on as Rick swings the rifle securely onto his back, Philip's head lolling to the side when Daryl and Tyreese shift his lax body into straightening.

Rick turns his attention to the crowd, eyes consumed by a simmering fire.

"I'm not going to drag this out, there's no point. But I would like to say that it's a sad day when we have to turn against another human being, when there is a far greater enemy beyond these fences. For the wrong this man has committed, he shall face death." His gaze finds that of the two men in the chairs, sending them a silent promise that they could be next. He only receives a grim, understanding expression from the taller of the two, and a stoic one from the other. Narrowing his eyes, he places a hand on the revolver in his holster, pulling it out and pointing it steadily at the forehead of the unconscious man.

He pulls the trigger, and the gunshot rings throughout the field.

Several people jump from within the crowd, startled despite the visual warning. Most shy away from the sight of the hole in the centre of the man's forehead. Andrea breathes in deeply through her nose, heart lightening at the presence of Philip leaving this world. Michonne studies her, having only watched the bullet leave the back of his skull before turning her attention to the blonde at her side. She can see the relief spreading on Andrea's face, previously tense facial muscles loosening.

Andrea collects herself and catches the sight of Michonne watching her out of the corner of her eye. She turns and gives a small, soft smile, taking in the way Michonne stares at her, expression relaxed and brown eyes gazing intently at her. The shifting of the crowd around them draws them out of their own little world, and they realise the whole ordeal is over.

The people begin to move back up into the prison, leaving behind the majority of the original group with their two remaining prisoners. Philip's body has already been dumped unceremoniously on top of the wood, and Daryl is starting the fire, using smaller lit branches to spread the flames more rapidly. Rick paces in front of the chairs, eyes fixating on one face before studying the other. He moves around to the back, noting how the men try to follow his movement. Good, they were intimidated, enough to be wary of him.

"Your boss is dead, thanks to you," he comments. His tone could almost be considered jovial as he stops moving, out of their direct sight.

"He's not our boss," Shumpert speaks, deep voice strong in his conviction. "He stopped being our boss the moment he killed our people."

"What about the other people you've killed? The soldiers?" Rick continues.

"Wouldn't you defend your people against any threat by any way possible? Protect them how you could?" Caesar speaks up, staring forlornly up at the ex-sheriff. "The Governor, he was good, you know. He looked after our people. But then, when everyone drove off from here… He snapped. Gunned everyone down, and we took off with him. What else could we do? He would've shot us, too."

"Once we started driving, the Governor started talking about getting revenge, hunting down Michonne. He didn't even care about the fact that he'd killed all of our people. Martinez and I, we knew it wasn't safe at all for us, even if we thought the bastard was right. He was not our boss, not anymore," Shumpert explains.

"Why'd you come to us? You could've killed him, and gone off on your own."

"We almost did. We went back to Woodbury on the Governor's orders and there was no one there. All the supplies were gone, and we couldn't find any bodies. We knew you had come and taken the rest of the people, so we decided to tie up the Governor and bring him to you."

"We don't want to keep on running, always having to keep an eye out. We know you guys have a secure place here, and you need people, strong people. We can help you." Shumpert carries on from his companion's words, eyes appealing to the others for forgiveness. "Those are our people in there, regardless of what the Governor did. We want to help."

Rick strolls around to the front, eyeing them both once more.

"I've heard enough, you're going back to your cell." He gestures for the others to grab the men and follows them, gun raised once more. Michonne and Andrea accompany them, helping guard the men as Daryl and Carol stay behind to tend to the fire.

In the meeting room – Shumpert and Caesar having been put away by now – the people sit around the table.

"Does anyone trust them?" Rick asks.

"I don't," Glenn volunteers almost immediately, gaining solemn nods from Sasha, Carl and a hesitant one from Maggie.

The others appear more torn, glancing amongst each other.

"What's going to happen, then?" Beth speaks up.

"Until we feel they can be counted on, they're staying in their cells," Rick says, earning a glower from his son.

"What if they escape?" Carl demands, standing up and clenching his fists. Beth puts a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugs it off. "We killed the Governor, why shouldn't we do the same with them?"

Rick steps closer, face troubled by his son's lust for blood. "The Governor's death was for the best; everyone knew it and agreed. We have people on the fence now, and I don't know if killing the Governor's men is the way to go. Unfortunately, they were right. We need more people. In the meantime maybe we can find a use for them, labour or something."

"I think your father is right in this, Carl," Hershel's face is grim as he trains his stare on the boy. In response, Carl sends a defiant glare and walks away, shoulders tense and fists still clenched tightly. Andrea raises her eyebrows as she looks at Michonne to see the other woman staring after the boy with concern in her eyes. She slips her hand into Michonne's, smiling softly when she receives a mildly befuddled expression.

"He'll be fine," Andrea whispers, turning her attention to Rick after Michonne gives her a tight-lipped smile of assurance. "So the plan is to keep them in their cells until we know we can trust them?" Rick bobs his head in confirmation.

"We'll keep an eye on them, have someone watching them all of the time. Any attempt at escape, and they've lost their chance."


	8. Chapter 8

It's several days later, and the sun burns down onto Andrea's back as she holds the gun in front of her, ready to react if the two men working hard in the field make one wrong move. Even from her position several metres away, she can see the sweat pouring off the men's skin, darkening their shirts. She feels a flash of sympathy, especially when she recalls that they hadn't complained once and had readily accepted their task. Of course, they hadn't really spoken much either, but when they were handed the shovels they are now driving into the soil, all that passed over their faces were looks of determination and acceptance, if not a grim sort of enthusiasm. She sees movement out of the corner of her eye and turns to see Tyreese coming down with four canteens. He makes his way over to Andrea, who despite the initial distraction keeps an eye on the working men.

"Water," he offers as an explanation when he hands her one of the containers. The blonde takes it with a grateful nod, smiling when she sees a meticulously engraved "M" at the base of the neck as she unscrews the cap. Tyreese walks over to the men, who have stopped for a quick break, and also hands them each a canteen. Andrea watches as she takes a sip, seeing how the men seem cautious when Tyreese lingers for a moment, seemingly conversing with them. The mood lifts when the man says something and a small grin forms on Caesar's face, both prisoners loosening their stiff stance. Tyreese claps Shumpert on the back and heads back up to the prison, giving Andrea a friendly nod of acknowledgement on his way past, murmuring that lunch was almost ready. It would most likely be bread and jam, or something similar – there had been a limited amount of canned food left that was decided to be better conserved, but still a reasonable stockpile of flour, so people were currently testing out how to cook away from the luxury of electricity that Woodbury had. The plan was, as far as Andrea knew, to go outside of the prison and start scouting around for anything that might help convert their home into sustainable quarters, whether that be vegetables and fruits to grow, or livestock they could section off in one corner.

By now, the two Woodbury soldiers had put down their water and continued working furiously. Andrea takes the time to think over what they've done, and if they're genuine in that they mean no harm. From what she had seen of them in action, she could conclude that they did have a sense of loyalty to the people of Woodbury, however gruff they might initially come across as. Her curiosity overcomes her, and she finds herself walking closer to them. They catch sight of her and slow their movements, obviously confused when she's previously kept her distance.

"Tyreese told you that lunch was soon?" she asks when she's close enough to be heard comfortably. They both nod, stopped momentarily, staring at her. Andrea almost leaves it at that, but her curiosity doubles when she notices the almost pitying, regretful look Shumpert sends her way before they turn back to their work. "You did a good thing, you know. Bringing the Governor here."

A low "We know," reaches her ears. Caesar hesitates driving the shovel back into the dirt, and makes up his mind as he leans on it and frowns at Andrea.

"We didn't know he had you captured," he mentions, and the reminder, sudden as it is, sends images and remnant fear crashing through her mind, before she's able to grasp onto reality. Her knuckles whiten briefly, and then she relaxes, sending a tight smile towards the sombre man in front of her.

"From what I understand, he didn't tell anyone, did he?" Andrea prompts. Shumpert shakes his head slowly, no longer working the shovel.

"If we had known, we could have done something," Caesar adds, and Andrea stiltedly shakes her head too.

"No point bringing that up," she manages to say through the lump in her throat. "He's gone, thanks to you. We won't have to worry about him anymore."

The men nod, and then something catches Shumpert's eyes, and he's tilting his head in the direction of the building before nudging Caesar and getting them both back into their work.

Though she personally feels it isn't really necessary, she takes a few steps back, warily keeping her eye on the prisoners before she turns around and spies Carol at the gate leading into the courtyard, waving her hands to get her attention. Once she knows that Andrea's watching her, she shifts her posture with one arm straight in the air, and the other ninety degrees out from her body.

Andrea chuckles at the rudimentary L shape, presuming it means that lunch is ready, and lifts a hand up in acknowledgement, turning back around and alerting the men to the news. They place down their shovels gratefully, and take the lead as Andrea escorts them up into the building.

* * *

Andrea notices the tension as soon as she walks in. So far the two men haven't shown any sign of rebelling and have quietly been accepting everything without any complaint, but that hasn't alleviated any suspicion some of the others still held onto. She supposes it'll just have to take its time, and she hopes that it's sooner rather than later – the strain it's creating amongst the group is starting to affect the general mood.

Caesar and Shumpert slowly walk up to the table where the food is ready to be taken, mindful of the scrutiny they're under as they move across the room. Andrea strolls over to where Michonne is sitting alone at a table, watching her move closer with two plates already on the table. Wordlessly she hands over the canteen, grinning at her partner as she takes it with a small smile.

"Still taking care of me?" the blonde probes, causing Michonne to give a sheepish upturn of the lips.

"Just making sure," she explains, pulling her plate towards her and tucking into the sandwich on it. Andrea does the same after fondly gazing at her for a moment. It's silent, until Carol sits down across from the women with a dour Daryl throwing himself down beside her.

"There's been an increase in walkers over the past few hours, so a couple of us are just going to patrol the fence line, take most of them down." Andrea nods, eyes unfocused on the lunch she's been nibbling at. Carol shares a concerned look with Michonne, who frowns lightly.

"Andrea?" she enquires, noting how the blonde looks up dazed from her sandwich.

"Yes?" the woman in question says, glancing from Carol to Daryl and then Michonne, seeing varying levels of worry present on their faces. "What is it?"

"Are you okay?" Andrea plasters a smile on her face, not entirely forced but still strained at the ends as she attempts to reassure them all.

"I'm fine," she waves them off, eyes not quite meeting Michonne's. "Just a little tired. It was hot out there today," she explains, and the others leave it at that, convinced for the time being.

* * *

Michonne knows something's wrong the moment Andrea walks through the door. The blonde is unusually quiet, shoulders weighed down with some invisible force and mouth tilted ever so slightly down. Andrea walks over to her, where she's seated and waiting on her love again, and keeps her arms wrapped around herself loosely as she draws blue eyes up to rest on a concerned face.

"I'm going to bed early," she murmurs, and Michonne can only nod as the unusually sullen woman ambles off to the living quarters. Michonne lingers for but a moment, before giving into the urge to check up on her and make sure she wasn't needed. She stands up and follows Andrea, mulling over what could have possibly happened. Andrea had been quiet at lunch, but Michonne had put that down to just one of those episodes where she hadn't felt up to talking. And then she had to leave, and as far as she knew, Andrea had carried on with her assigned duties. There hadn't been time to talk.

She stops at the doorway, hand placed on the frame as she takes in her partner, lying in bed and facing the wall already, having not even bothered to change out of her clothes into pajamas.

"Andrea," she alerts the blonde to her presence, and is startled into moving when the other woman stirs out of her curled up position, facing Michonne and revealing the beginning of tears in those bright blue eyes. She crosses the room in easy strides, taking in that Andrea moves closer to the wall, allowing her room on the bed. She gets in without complaint, once she's unclipped her sword sheathe and vest, and huddles in behind the woman, feeling the tremors running through her thin body.

"I just need you to hold me, Mich," Andrea's broken voice reaches her ears, and she tightens her grip, pulling their bodies even closer.

"Whatever you need," she promises, whispering against the pale shoulder pressing against her lips. "I'm here."


	9. Chapter 9

_You think you could run away from me?_

His voice, so clear, so ridden with cold contempt, sounds like it's being whispered into her ear. She tightens her arms around her knees, head burrowing down and ears muffled by her arms. But it's useless, she can still hear him, plain as day.

_Stupid bitch…_

Her body goes rigid at that, instinctively expecting the blow that never comes. It takes her a while before she realises that her breathing has accelerated, just to the edge of hyperventilating, and throws her head back to gasp, ready to focus on steadying her breathes, but springs back at the sight of a body slowly walking through the doorway in the dark. Her back hits the wall, heart pounding in fright as she whimpers.

"Hey," Michonne's sad tone reaches her, and her body relaxes at the sound. "Hey, it's just me. I'm here." Weight presses down at the end of the bed and Andrea hesitates just one moment before scurrying across the bed, wrapping herself up in the strong arms she has become so accustomed to.

"Another nightmare?" Michonne probes, not relinquishing her hold on the woman in her arms.

Andrea pulls back, and Michonne lets her, but not too far. She knows the blonde needs this contact, this comfort, as much as she tries not to come off as clingy or dependant. Michonne understands completely.

"It wasn't too bad," she starts, and Michonne has to nudge her into further explaining. "I woke up quickly, but then it just kept on coming. I couldn't… Keep him out." She trails off in a whisper, staring at the wall behind the other woman. Michonne allows her a short moment inside her head before shifting and gesturing for Andrea to lie down in the bed again, quickly curling up around her, making her feel protected and safe. "It's always worse when you're not here." The admission is quiet, but hurtles through the air between them, and Michonne's chest caves uncomfortably at the broken quality Andrea's voice holds.

"I'm going to talk to Rick about moving the roster about," she murmurs, and feels as Andrea's hand searches for hers against her stomach. "I'll make sure that I'll only have to stand guard on day shifts."

Andrea says nothing, but squeezes her hand thankfully once their fingers interlock. She hates that she feels so dependent on Michonne, that she has this need for Michonne to stay by her side throughout the night otherwise she'll spend the lonely hours clutching at her pillow and willing the memories to leave her every time she's not lost within sleep and the accompanying terrors of her subconscious. But the truth is that she does need Michonne beside her in the bed, needs her warm body there to be a constant reminder that she is safe, and alive, and protected. It's the only way she'll get a good night's sleep these days.

Andrea guesses it started that day she had been reminded of Phillip's treatment, out in the field with Shumpert and Caesar. The first week since coming back to the prison had been full of distractions, apparently enough to at least prolong the nightmares.

But now there weren't as many diversions, and it was easy for the long days spent in the torture chamber to come back to haunt the blonde. Especially at night. And especially without Michonne there.

* * *

The day that follows is strange, in that Andrea finds herself unable to shake the feeling of dread inspired by her most recent nightmare. She doesn't recognise the concerned stares from Carol and Glenn, or the sorrowful glances from any of the others; instead she tries to immerse herself in her assigned tasks, easy enough to just go through the motions, but she needs a way of ignoring the dark presence lingering in the back of her mind. It isn't until Carol is calling her name softly that she realises it's dinner time already, and that the whole day had somehow passed in a haze.

"Are you okay?" Carol prompts, staring at her with caring eyes, and Andrea feels the tears of tiredness, and fear, and even anger appear. The other woman seems alarmed but moves quickly, easily wrapping her in a hug that's comforting. Andrea feels something click, just slightly, into place, and she realises what she needs to do, to get back to herself a little bit more. She draws back from Carol, trying to give her an appreciative smile.

"Do you know where Michonne is?" she asks as apologetically as she can. Carol seems to understand, nodding.

"She went to your room, as far I'm aware, not too long ago." Andrea murmurs a small thanks and gives Carol a squeeze of her hand, before moving past her and through the prison block towards the cell block.

It is indeed in their little cell that Andrea finds her, studiously folding her clothes and placing them down to be worn another day.

"Michonne," Andrea breathes, and as her partner turns to greet her she finds herself moving forward to wrap her arms around Michonne's waist, immediately burying her face in the other woman's neck. It only takes a split second for Michonne to realise and strong arms loop around her shoulders, enveloping her in a warm embrace that builds her up and tears her down at the same time. Tears are leaking from her eyes, and she feels Michonne grip even tighter, to the point where she almost feels like she's going to suffocate but it's secure and loving and everything she needs in that moment.

Andrea can feel herself breaking, but Michonne is there to hold her.

* * *

It's been weeks since the sleepless nights started. Weeks since the Governor's words had been repeating in her head, countless memories of the time spent in his torture chamber resurfacing and plaguing her. Weeks since her head last felt this clear.

They're lying down in bed now, squashed against each other like every other time, refusing to be apart in the almost constant privacy of their room. Andrea has her head resting on Michonne's shoulder, and is curled around and on top of her, watching Michonne's chest rise with every breath she takes.

The tears had stopped some time ago, when all the heavy emotion and trauma just seemed to drain out of her, leaving her raw but open, light. It hadn't occurred to her that keeping herself from thinking about those dark days spent in the chamber, terrified for her life and her loved ones, would just accumulate all of the darkness inside of her until it began to corrupt everything else.

Reflecting on it, reliving it on her own terms and sorting through how she felt in the aftermath was exhausting, and she could barely lift her head to look down at Michonne, but she managed.

"Thank you," Andrea says, pouring as much gratitude as she can into the two words. The brunette lifts up a hand and cups her neck, thumb reverently stroking skin.

"Are you feeling better?"

The blonde smiles lightly, bobbing her heard up and down. It's easily noticeable to Michonne how the tension that's been building over the past few weeks has already diminished, like the other woman has truly begun to let go of it.

"It was horrible, Mich," Andrea says, lying her head back down. Michonne's arm around her subconsciously grips tighter, but she soothes her love by nuzzling into her a bit and rubbing her arm. "I was scared, for my life, but also for all of you here… And when he told me that he was going to come here… All I could think of was you."

"Did…" escapes Michonne's mouth before she can stop herself and Andrea gives her a reassuring squeeze to the arm. "Did he ever…" she trails off, but the other woman gets the gist.

"No. Never that. It… It was mostly verbal, during the day when he found time to come in but at night, that's when he'd come in the dark, and he would blindfold me and he'd try to intimidate me with his tools." Michonne tries to not let her body tense at Andrea's words, tries not to let the imagery affect her too much. But it's difficult not to see a vulnerable Andrea, at the mercy of a madman. "He never did anything seriously damaging. I think he could tell the fear of the unknown was enough. But the darkness… I think that's why it's worse at night." There's a pause as Andrea lets her words sink in, and then she continues. "But at least I'm here, and he's gone."

"No one should have to go through that," she murmurs, brushing her lips across Andrea's forehead and drawing her closer in her arms, twisting her body more so they were laying facing each other in quiet serendipity.

"You know I didn't choose him over you, right?" Andrea's voice breaks the silence between them. Michonne draws back from the embrace to look Andrea in the eyes, keeping her arms around the blonde, and sees the sincerity staring back.

"I know," she acknowledges lowly, trying to convey the same level of honesty. "I know constantly being on the run was tiring, and that not having a place to call home was starting to get to you. I was almost at that point too. I don't blame you for wanting to stay. If it wasn't for the Governor, I would've stayed. For you." Andrea can't help the soft smile that breaks through at her words and brings their heads close enough to feel each other's breath ghosting against their cheeks.

"I was coming back to you. I wish I hadn't been so pig-headed to not follow after you sooner." Andrea explains, and Michonne grins.

"Your stubbornness is one of the things I love about you. You've given me so much grief in all the time we've known each other but I wouldn't have it any other way." Andrea huffs a little, but can't help the responding happy smile.

"You're one to talk." Michonne just smiles openly at her, and they venture into another comfortable silence.

"I love you," the brunette says simply, after both of their eyes close in content satisfaction at their closeness. Andrea's eyes drift open and she stares at Michonne in wonder, gaze falling over the features of the other woman that she's come to know so well. The lack of reply concerns Michonne, until she, too, opens her eyes and finds the blonde watching her with such an achingly beautiful, open expression.

Andrea feels there isn't a need to say anything, sure that her face says it all, and leans forward, bringing their lips together, causing their hearts to beat heavily from the simple action of reaffirming their connection.


	10. Chapter 10

Walking out towards the field three days later, Andrea reflects.

Her talk with Michonne has seemed to really relieve the tension building inside of her, and she's able to breathe and fully appreciate the fresh air blowing softly through the grass once she gets outside. At least, before she has to get into gear alongside Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, Rick and Karen. The plan for today was to prepare a section of the yard to make way for a vegetable garden, and Andrea had volunteered herself while Michonne was on a supply mission with Daryl to scope out the surrounding properties and whatever useful items they might still hold. She feels like she's getting stronger each and every day; physically, emotionally and mentally. Her experience with Philip still occasionally finds its way into the forefront of her mind, but it's no longer draining like it was mere days ago. With Michonne by her side at night, the nightmares seem to lessen, and Andrea was able to actually sleep last night through.

The good night's sleep was proving useful right now, as Andrea immersed herself in the demanding physical work of digging. Currently she's working alongside Glenn, who's been surprisingly quiet for the most part.

After a solid half hour of working at the dirt, trying to form an area for the garden, Andrea finds herself needing to take a five minute break. She sets down her shovel and moves over to where her canteen is sitting, and notices out of the corner of her eye Glenn doing the same. She takes a greedy gulp at first, but tries to pace herself a little more after the initial sip, not wanting to get sick. Glenn waits until she's finished drinking and then speaks up.

"So, uh, this is going to sound a little weird, but I noticed your cell still has the single bunks in it, but the top bunk's never been used," he starts off, garnering a strange look from the blonde woman. He rushes on to add, "I mean, it's pretty tight with two people on a single bed – I would know – and I can help you do the same thing to your bed that we did to Maggie's and mine. To get more space."

Andrea's a little taken aback by the offer, because of the randomness of it, but in the end gives him a smile.

"That would actually help a lot." He gives her a happy little nod, and returns to his work. Andrea takes a final sip and does the same.

* * *

At midday, when the sun is high in the sky, everyone decides that it's time to go inside and seek relief from the harsh sunrays. They can return to it later, when the day has cooled down considerably. Andrea sticks with Glenn and Maggie throughout lunch, and then once that's been finished, Glenn turns to her.

"Ready to fix up your bed?"

"Sure," she replies, and follows him to the supply room where most of their scavenged tools are. He grabs the two hacksaws that are there along with a metal file and they walk side by side up to her room. Once there, they take off the mattresses and the bed sheets, before he hands her a hacksaw. It takes them a little over forty minutes to be able to cut off the top bunk and cut the legs of it to the right height so it fits nicely next to the lower one. When that task is finished, Glenn takes the hacksaws away and leaves Andrea with the file so she can make the sharply cut metal blunter to avoid any injuries. It doesn't take her too long to complete and fix it all up again, and she wanders back down to the storage room to put the file away before moving to find where the others were. She finds Carol and Beth in the communal dining area, trying to entertain Judith. Carol spots her spying from the doorway and leaves the entertaining to a more than competent Beth as she approaches Andrea.

"Hey stranger," Carol greets the other woman, eyes taking in the relaxed stance she holds. "How are you going?"

The subtle concern and overt friendliness has Andrea drawing nearer with an affectionate smile.

"Much better," she replies, finding it easy to be honest with the woman that she'd instantly connected with from the very start. "Michonne has been helping, a lot actually." The mischievous twinkle Andrea's spotted several times over the past month makes a return in Carol's eyes, and she braces herself when she senses the other woman is finally going to comment on her relationship with Michonne.

"Oh, 'helping', is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Carol has one eyebrow cocked up with a smug grin and Andrea resists the initial urge to splutter, instead shaking her head and setting a soft laughter free.

"You're not even that much older than me, you can't say that."

Carol just shrugs her shoulder indifferently, and slowly her grin fades as a serious expression of contemplation takes over and she studies Andrea.

"It's been a while since you've been like this. Happy," she comments, grey eyes locked on the blonde's. "Ever since…" she trails off, but Andrea can easily guess that she was about to say Amy's death. Her own face settles into a more neutral expression at the reminder of her sister, the ever-present anguish spiking and letting itself be known.

"I didn't think I would ever feel like this," Andrea reveals, eyes falling to the ground. "That life would go on and I'd actually feel like I was happy. Not just surviving. Not just trying to get through to the next day. But actually looking forward to waking up and working towards something. She's given me hope, that we can see this through. I don't think I'd be able to cope if I lost her, I wouldn't be able to go through that again, but I don't feel like that's all we have left for us. I feel like… we have a chance." And it was true. Andrea felt hopeful, truly optimistic for the future. She raises her eyes back up to the other woman, who's smiling at her softly, clearly pleased for her.

"You ready to go back out?" Carol changes the subject, apparently satisfied that that topic's been covered. "I'll come with, help out." Andrea happily acquiesces, and they go to the kitchen briefly to grab canteens before making their way outside with the others to continue work on the yard.

* * *

The day is almost at an end when Michonne strides through the door, followed closely by Daryl who immediately goes to the people serving dinner. Michonne makes her way over to where Andrea is sitting with Glenn and Maggie and, after the barest moment of hesitation, leans down and pecks Andrea on the lips, squeezing her shoulder in greeting before sitting down beside her, very obviously trying to avoid looking at anyone to gauge their reactions by tucking into the bread and soup that Andrea had saved for her. Andrea has no problem glancing at the other two at the table, but Glenn and Maggie only give her a sweet smile that has her grinning in giddiness.

"How'd it go?" Andrea prompts, finally allowing herself to start eating her own soup. Michonne nods slowly, clearly savouring the taste before swallowing and sending a soft smile Andrea's way.

"Good. A lot of the properties around here were farms, so there's more than enough that we can use to build a garden here. Rick says we'll take the cars around tomorrow and collect what we managed to find."

"That's great," Andrea enthuses, bringing a smile from Michonne. "So there weren't too many walkers?"

"A few, but they were easy to take care of. Nothing we couldn't handle."

They continue talking, huddled together and slowly forgetting that others were in the room until Maggie laughed at something that Beth said, who had joined them sometime after the two women had finished their dinner. It startles them out of their own little world and back amongst the group, to find that the rest had also finished their dinner and were in the process of locating the small collection of board games some of the Woodbury residents had brought with them.

It's at this point of the night that Michonne would retire to their bedroom and leave Andrea to talk with the others for a small amount of time before she too felt it was time to go to bed. But Michonne didn't budge this time, only returning a small smile to the questioning look Andrea sent her way. They end up being roped into a game of Scrabble with Beth and Maggie, and Beth, somewhat unsurprisingly, manages to beat all three of them with a rather large lead.

Andrea catches herself yawning in the midst of the Greene sisters' good natured bickering over the results of the game, and grins coyly when Michonne raises her eyebrow. She moves to stand up, and says goodnight to the victorious Beth and playfully-resentful Maggie, before being followed upstairs by Michonne.


	11. Chapter 11

They're standing in their room, getting ready to go to sleep in their newly-formed double bed when Andrea hears Michonne clear her throat, garnering her attention and making her turn around.

"I found something for you," Michonne says softly, standing almost bashfully in front of the blonde. Andrea perks up a little, taking in her partner's unusual stance, and gives a small but eager smile.

"A present?" Michonne nods, returning a smile of her own, though somewhat subdued, stepping forward and gently grabbing Andrea's forearm with one hand, and revealing a flash of gold in the other as she loops whatever it is around a pale wrist. Andrea flicks her eyes up to Michonne's face – gorgeous eyes trained on the task at hand – and then back down, heart suddenly thumping as she sees what it is.

A gold mermaid, not too unlike the one she found for Amy all that time ago.

Andrea lifts up her other hand to stroke at it speechlessly, barely registering that Michonne hasn't released her arm and is rubbing it tenderly with her thumb.

"I saw it, and it reminded me of when you told me about her," Michonne explains, drawing Andrea's attention to her briefly before it's taken by the charm again. "About how mermaids were her favourite, and I know that she would never be far from your thoughts, but it would be nice to have something close to her."

"Oh Mich…" Andrea can't help it, the way her eyes tear up slightly. "It's… it's perfect." Michonne says nothing, but the relieved smile says it all, as Michonne brings her arm up and presses her lips against the inside of her wrist. The touch sends a jolt travelling up the blonde's arm, and she reaches up to draw Michonne closer, sending them into a chaste kiss that surprisingly stays that way. Michonne places a final peck on Andrea's lip before pulling back.

"Bed time?"

"I think so," the blonde agrees, unable to hold back from leaning in again. They trade soft kisses for a couple of minutes more, and then Andrea is the one to pull back, grin bursting forth. "Okay, bed time now."

They climb into bed, and immediately settle into an easy embrace, bare legs comfortably brushing against each other, unused to the space afforded to them by Glenn's suggestion. For a while, it's quiet, but Andrea can't ignore the way her body is humming and raises herself up on one forearm, moving the other to rest on Michonne's stomach.

Her eyes are used enough to the dark to be able to make out Michonne's features and the way she stares up at her in a silent question. Andrea doesn't choose to say anything, but instead leans down, continuing the gentle kisses and then deepening them, shifting to bring her body closer to Michonne's by moving her arms to either side of Michonne's body.

Michonne's hands lift and hover, before she starts trailing her fingertips up and down the blonde's triceps. The teasing contact makes Andrea stumble slightly in her kissing, overwhelmed for a fraction of a second by the sensation caused by the caress, and then she's kissing harder, feeling like she's going mad at the sheer amount of how much she wants this. All trace of her earlier tiredness seems to disappear in the heat of Michonne's body beneath her, and she can't help but rest her own more fully against the brunette.

It seems to encourage Michonne further, who wraps her arms around the blonde and bites down lightly on Andrea's bottom lip. A whimper escapes, and then Andrea is moving a little more desperately against her. She pulls back.

"Mich." Her voice is quiet, needy, and Michonne understands, feels the same and wants this too. She lets her hands trail down, down to where Andrea's shirt meets her underwear and intersects them, reaching underneath the fabric and running her fingernails up her back. Andrea seems content to let her do it for a moment, and then she's pulling back, upwards, so she's sitting up and straddling Michonne's lap.

Michonne moves up with her, taking a hold of the bottom of Andrea's shirt and momentarily pausing to look at Andrea. Her partner smiles happily, gives a nod of her head and then her shirt is pulled up over her head. Michonne's eyes drop, and she feels almost entranced by the uninterrupted view of pale skin. She leans her head down and immediately begins trailing kisses along Andrea's neck and chest. She feels the other woman's hands come up and one entangles itself in her hair while the other brushes over her upper back.

"Michonne," she hears Andrea moan, and the hand in her hair gently persuades her to pull back. Both of Andrea's hands move down to the bottom of her own shirt, and she allows her to pull it over her head. Next thing she knows, she's being pushed back down onto the mattress, helpless to do anything other than surrender to the blonde's hungry kisses that slowly move down onto her own chest. Her lips burn right into her skin and the heat travels down her body to where she throbs with need.

A mouth closes around one of her nipples and she gasps, hands shooting up to hold Andrea in place as she traps it in between her teeth and lightly runs her tongue over the tip. Andrea moves to the other one, letting the cool air hit her saliva and send chills down Michonne's body, a delicious contrast to the fire that grows with every passing second.

Andrea brings a hand up to cup the breast she left behind, and starts to leave open-mouthed kisses around the other, sure to place small traces of tongue when she felt Michonne was least expecting it. And right when she could sense the other woman getting impatient, she began moving those kisses gradually down, down her toned stomach and especially around her hipbones. She lets herself look up to Michonne's face, to see her watching her movements with a hunger that sets her aflame even more.

"Is this okay?" she asks, needing to make sure as she hovers her hands over Michonne's underwear, itching to take them off but unwilling to unless the other woman was completely on board. Michonne nods, and she's pulling them down strong legs, caressing, lovingly trailing her hands back up after disposing of the clothes.

She takes the time to situate herself more firmly in between dark legs, hands guiding them over her shoulders as she maintains eye contact and places soft kisses on even softer thighs, and then she looks down. She allows herself one lick, straight through her centre, drawing a reluctant moan from Michonne, and savours the wild energy dancing in the other woman's eyes before she focuses fully on bringing Michonne to orgasm with determined flourishes of her tongue.

It doesn't seem to take long at all for Michonne to grow steadily more unreserved, burying her hands in blonde hair and releasing small whimpers and moans. An insistent tug brings her crawling back up to kiss Michonne, panting into her mouth as she uses her fingers to finish what she started.

Michonne lets go with a high-pitched groan, wrapping her arms around Andrea and burying her head into her neck, letting her thighs close in around Andrea's hips as she finds her peak and tumbles over.

Andrea lets her come down with gentle kisses placed along her neck, removing her hand to steady herself as she also catches her breath.

When she's sure Michonne has recovered enough to be coherent, she places one final kiss to her cheek and moves off of her to rest by her side. It takes but a mere second before Michonne is rolling and following her, capturing her lips in a pleasant kiss that promises much more to come.

"I love you," Michonne says in between kisses, but doesn't seem overly interested in letting Andrea return the sentiment as a hand sneaks its way into her underwear. Andrea gasps as fingers search and circle for the small bud, increasing her need for the other woman.

"Okay?" Michonne seeks to confirm, and at Andrea's eager nod, a finger dips down, and she gives into the urge to nip at Michonne's lip as it enters slowly. A second finger quickly joins, and Michonne's movements become a little more confident, before she finds herself annoyed by the constricting underwear still left there. She removes her hand completely, and shifts so the removal of Andrea's underwear is much more efficient, before she's leaning down and crashing their lips together.

Slowly she returns her hand to where it was before, but instead of the sure movements she was making before, she makes teasing small circles, light enough that it only stirs Andrea up more, and she can only take a moment more before she's lightly digging her fingernails into Michonne's back, a silent plea to make her continue the rewarding motions of before. Michonne grins into their kiss, and acquiesces, reacquainting her fingers with the depth of Andrea. She's met with an encouraging moan, and swallows it eagerly before allowing Andrea to focus on her hands movements, instead bringing her mouth to the blonde's neck and sucking gently at the skin there. She speeds up the thrusts of her hands when she feels Andrea get used to the sensation, and bites lightly down on the slowly forming bruise she made.

A whimper escapes, and it spurs her on even as Andrea follows it with a broken murmuring of her name. She can sense the other woman getting closer to the edge, and she moves her thumb to play with her clit, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her body.

Andrea crumbles, low moans filling the air as she embraces all that Michonne has to give her, letting her take her higher and help her ride through the aftershocks after she comes.

She extends the same courtesy as Andrea did, giving her some space but still remaining close, resting on her side and watching Andrea recover with a fond expression.

Andrea turns onto her side as well and engages Michonne in a gentle, loving kiss, running her hand up and down her arm, revelling in the warmth that emanates from her.

"I love you too," she says with a smile, and Michonne can't help her own corresponding smile, leaning to peck her on the lips. They draw closer, until they're touching chest to chest. Michonne ducks her head to tuck in a little more, and Andrea instinctively places a kiss on her forehead. Michonne turns around her arms, careful not to dislodge them, and makes sure Andrea is holding her securely before she allows herself to fully relax. The hustle of before has tired them both, and before long, they are drifting off to sleep, happy and optimistic as to what the future holds.


End file.
